[D1 LA] Short Lesson Before Dinner

[Matsu Kogo]

He smiles widely. "Correct posture and proper balance. When you are sitting correctly and comfortable with that your legs will naturally hold on how they need to. Then with control you'll be able to guide the horse by nudging and leaning. The more you do it the more comfortable it will feel and the more natural your control will be. It's all about feeling the connection between yourself and the horse." He takes a few moments to point out and adjust her posture and keeps an eye on it to remind her when she seems to be slipping out of proper form.

Kogo's face lights up. "Then this isn't that different from my bond with Noburu. Its about seeing through the horse's eyes and body, yes?"

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"In a way, you could consider it like that. But you can't forget your own eyes and body. You and the horse must act as one. It becomes your base and you become it's reach. Not that I'm quite at that level yet, but when you become skilled enough a rider, you will be able to guide it where you are headed but it will understand where you need to be and put you in the perfect position. I think my greatest sadness is that I know it takes so long to become such a capable rider that when I get to that point Meushi will have been retired and I'll have a new companion. But she will carry me as close to that goal as she can and my partner at that point will know the benefits of what she and I built together," he smiles sadly at the horse and runs a hand through her mane at that. "But such is the way a horseman's life goes."

[Matsu Kogo]

"In a way, you could consider it like that. But you can't forget your own eyes and body. You and the horse must act as one. It becomes your base and you become it's reach. Not that I'm quite at that level yet, but when you become skilled enough a rider, you will be able to guide it where you are headed but it will understand where you need to be and put you in the perfect position. I think my greatest sadness is that I know it takes so long to become such a capable rider that when I get to that point Meushi will have been retired and I'll have a new companion. But she will carry me as close to that goal as she can and my partner at that point will know the benefits of what she and I built together," he smiles sadly at the horse and runs a hand through her mane at that. "But such is the way a horseman's life goes."

Kogo's eyes dull with sadness. "It is a tragedy that we live so much longer than our companions. We learn so much from each other and become so close. But they live shorter lives than us, and so we are left to mourn them." She stares off for a moment and then shakes her head. "But you are correct Shinjo-san. One cannot try to learn faster than one can. I will try to see what I am capable of. I thank you for giving me some of Meushi's valuable time."

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"You are welcome to it while we are here at the miai. Who knows what the future holds. Perhaps in the future you'll get to spend even more time with her afterwards. Even if we only end up as friends in the same clan at it's conclusion or something more. There is still much time to figure this all out," he says cheerfully, moving on from the sad subject.

[Matsu Kogo]

"You are welcome to it while we are here at the miai. Who knows what the future holds. Perhaps in the future you'll get to spend even more time with her afterwards. Even if we only end up as friends in the same clan at it's conclusion or something more. There is still much time to figure this all out," he says cheerfully, moving on from the sad subject.

Kogo brightens. "That is true. There is still a great deal of time in the world. Let us keep trying Shinjo-san. This doesn't feel so bad now."

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"Well, that's a common danger when you're learning. You start feeling so good that first time that you forget that you need to rest the muscles... then you can't walk right for a day afterwards," he says with a laugh. "We'll go for a few more minutes of posture practice then give your legs and back a rest. We can pick it up later on then when you've rested those muscles a bit. And drinking plenty of water will help with soreness too so don't forget that this evening during the feast."

[Matsu Kogo]

"Well, that's a common danger when you're learning. You start feeling so good that first time that you forget that you need to rest the muscles... then you can't walk right for a day afterwards," he says with a laugh. "We'll go for a few more minutes of posture practice then give your legs and back a rest. We can pick it up later on then when you've rested those muscles a bit. And drinking plenty of water will help with soreness too so don't forget that this evening during the feast."

"That is a wise thought Shinjo-san. Occasionally, we Lion forget caution and embrace zeal. This occasionally leads to complications but it is also one of our charms. No one can complain that we are not committed or involved."

[Asako Yuki]

Seeing Hirase approach, the young Asako stepped out of the way to let him get closer, which took her towards the still mounted sister. "I admit, I've never seen so many horses as i have here, you must have nearly three horses for every person here."

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

...

"That's not unlike the Moto. They can be very single minded and committed when they get an idea in their head," he replies with a smirk. "Especially when it comes to a fight. Their love of battle can be... daunting. But their respect for a proven warrior is just as strong. That's how they came to join the Unicorn, when their ancestors fought against Lady Shinjo and her prowess proved more than a match. Neither side had ever come across such formidable opponents, their tribe offered to follow her, and she accepted granting them the Moto name."

He continued leading the Matsu around a bit more, watching and correcting posture as necessary. Meushi, for her part, seemed to be quite comfortable with the Lion atop her.

[Soshi Yuuru]

"Suuure you did," she chuckled, knowing by now that Yuuru could easily exaggerate a housecat to be a Matsu Warcat. "And let me guess, you wrestled that big kitten into submission and it ran away in fear?"

"I'm sitting here alive am I not?" He said with a smile. He moved his hand to his kimono and opened it up a bit at his chest to reveal a fairly nasty scar.

"Not unscathed though, I assure you."

[Usagi Tomoe]

Tomoe sighed.

"Alright, so it actually was a tiger this time. I trust you had a professional look at that?"

[Soshi Yuuru]

He chuckled, "Of course... I was in pretty bad shape. Was fortunate to get back to base and get it fixed up properly. No lingering effects."

[Usagi Tomoe]

"One of these days, a tiger is gonna bite your face off because you got too careless," said the one who almost drowned herself recently. Not that Yuuru had to know about that particular incident for her gempukku.

"Lucky for you, no tigers here. Well... maybe something close to it. I saw some if the Lions at camp had these big warcats with them."

[Soshi Yuuru]

Yuuru nodded quietly for a couple moments, "Is that so? Interesting choice to bring an animal like that to a miai..."

[Usagi Tomoe]

"Maybe they thought the Unicorn would like it?" The bunny shrugged.

"Speaking of which, met any nice Unicorn girls yet?" Tomoe grinned. "Or boys you would recommend to your Hare friend?"